Too Late
by LovelyMagickUnicorn
Summary: Takes place after "On My Way" Quinn's car accident shatters Rachel to the core. She blames herself for the blonde's current state, and at the same time begins to question real feelings for her. Edit: Fic has been retitled. ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

AN: I really should focus on my other fics, but I just couldn't help myself. But this will probably only be two or three parts long. And this part is pretty short. (The following part/s might be as well) So yeah. Takes place after "On My Way" Please forgive any grammatical errors, or any other errors. Reviews welcome. I own nothing.

*BEEP*

She's been standing here for a while now.

*BEEP*

She's clutching desperately onto pale hand. It's cold, and she grips harder.

*BEEP*

She wants to say something, anything. But whenever she opens her mouth all that escapes is a whimper, if anything escapes at all. But the girl in the bed is alive, she keeps reminding herself. The slow rising and falling of her chest and the consistent beeping should be enough to tell her that, but it's not. Instead all it does is remind Rachel that Quinn's life is hanging by a thread. She scans her body, examining any bits of injury that she can see. The most noticeable thing was that her already pale skin has lost a lot of its color. Miraculously her face looked, with the exception of a few cuts and bandages, unharmed. Rachel tried to focus her brown orbs on that part of her.

The blonde looked so beautiful and peaceful. Almost as though she was glad that she might be able to escape all the horrible things that have happened to her in the past few years. Memories flashed through Rachel's mind.

Her pregnancy, getting kicked off the Cheerios, being disowned by her parents. She though back to her selfish decision to reveal that Puck was the father; remembered how she had given up her daughter, a daughter that she would scheme to get back later. Rachel thought on how Quinn had only tried to steal Beth back because, just like her bid for winning Prom Queen, it was something that made her feel important; made her feel special.

The sound of footsteps distracts her, and she turns to the doorway. She sees a nurse come in to inform her that visiting hours will be over in five minutes. The brunette nods and waits for the nurse to exit.

"Hey, Quinn," she stutters out. "I'm going to have to leave soon, but um…as you can see," she lets go of the blondes hand and gestures at her attire. "I'm still in my gown." She had run out the moment she had heard the news. "I- I canceled the wedding." Rachel clutches Quinn's hand once more. "Finn wanted to postpone it until you were better, but- but I just can't." Her free hand travels up to her face to wipe away her tears, smudging up her makeup in the process. "I guess should be happy," she tries to joke. "I know you didn't fully support my decision, but I do appreciate that you decided to come. But maybe if you hadn't- if I hadn't been so insistent- if I hadn't texted you, then you might not…" She chokes down a sob. "I'm so sorry Quinn." She leaves, unable to stay a minute longer.

The following day at school is unbearable. Everyone already knows, and there isn't a single place in the building that Rachel can go without hearing someone saying something about the accident. It makes her sick; made her feel the need to throw up despite not having a gag reflex. Apparently is showed because on more than one occasion she was asked by her teachers if she was feeling well. At first she insisted that she was fine, but by her third period she resigned to spend the rest of the day in the nurse's office. It did her body well; she didn't get much sleep the previous night and had instead spent most of it going downstairs to grab several glasses of water.

The final bell rang, and although Rachel still had Glee Club to attend she decided to just skip it in favor of visiting Quinn. She exited the nurse's room and made a quick trip to her locker. She spun out the combination and whatever books she'd need her homework that she probably wouldn't even start on. "Berry!" She heard from over her shoulder. Rachel turned on heel to face a fuming Santana. The Latina shoved her rough against the cold steel causing the brunette to drop her belongings. "This is your fault, you bitch! You and your stupid fucking wedding!" A worried Brittany ran up and wrapped her arms around Santana, frantically trying to pull her off the tiny diva. "If it wasn't for you she'd still be okay!"

"San, Stop!" The taller girl had managed to drag her to the opposite end of the hall. "You promised you wouldn't hurt Rachel."

"Let go of me Britt! It's her fault!"

"No, you promised and Quinn wouldn't like it if you hurt her."

"Well I'm pretty sure she wouldn't like being in a hospital either! You should be the one in there!" she shrieked at Rachel. "You, not her!" The diva flinched at the words then ran away, leaving her possessions scattered along the floor.

The brunette rounded a corner then tossed herself in the closest restroom. Thankfully it was empty. Rachel entered one of the stalls and locked it. She put the seat down, and despite how unsanitary it was she sat down. She brought her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, pressing them against her chest. She began to cry. Nothing was right, and it was all her fault. And to a larger extent she began to believe that all of Quinn's pain was somehow her fault.

"Rachel?" It was Brittany. "Rachel, are you in here?"

"Leave me alone!" Rachel sobbed.

"Rachel." The blonde approached the door and tried to open it. "Open up, Rach. Santana's not going to hurt you anymore." Rachel didn't answer. "Rachel, I'm not leaving until you come out."

"Why not?" Santana was right!" She yelled from inside the stall. "Quinn's shouldn't be in there," she continued, her voice softening. "I should." She returned to sobbing.

"I'm not leaving because I don't want you to do something stupid!" Rachel froze and the previous week flashed before her. "We'd miss you, Quinn especially. She'll get better," she reassured. "So, come out." She heard the sound of flats hitting the floor and managed a weak smile. "That's better." Rachel unlocked the stall. She went up to Brittany and gave her a warm embrace.

"Thanks Brittany," she stuttered out.

"No problem Rach," she pulled back. "Are you okay now?" The brunette nodded, not trusting her voice to cooperate. "Okay, see you in Glee?"

"Actually, I was planning on going to see Quinn."

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, tomorrow."

AN: Thanks for reading. Reviews please.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Hey everybody, first I'd like to say that I might have lied. In my original summary I said that this would be two or three parts. Right now I think it might be four or five or more. But I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed, put this fic in their favs or their alerts. There are tons of fics like this one so I'm very grateful that you stopped by, and I'm even more grateful cause this got the least amount of hits I've ever gotten. Please forgive any errors, and as always I own nothing.

AN2: I feel like changing the title since it's far too long, but I suck at names. Suggestions?

Rachel exited the restroom soon after Brittany had. But she stopped in her tracks and took a step back, nearly falling back in, when she came face to face with Santana. "Don't worry Berry. I won't hurt you… for now." She mentioned her head towards a nearby bench. "I brought your stuff." And indeed Rachel's belonging were on said bench. The diva went over to retrieve them but Santana lifted an arm, blocking her way. "And I wanted to get some things straight."

"Of course San-"

"Don't speak. That's number one. Don't speak to me, and it might even be better if you just don't speak around me." Rachel wanted to interrupt; to say how that was ridiculous especially considering they shared two classes and Glee, but she could see how her body was shaking. She could see how much effort she was exerting to contain her anger. "And second, if anything happens to her. Anything at all, I will put full blame on you. Understood?"

"Don't worry," Rachel replied, turning away from the taller brunette. "I already blame myself enough for the both of us." And with that Rachel gathered her belongings and went off in the direction of the parking lot. Santana stood in the same spot for a second, her expression softening. She chanced a glance at the diva as she rounded a corner and stalked her way to the choir room.

Rachel quickly made her way to the hospital, a place that she typically avoided. The brunette had always kept up a healthy lifestyle; as such she normally had little interactions with hospitals. The majority of memories she can recall of being in a hospital are similar of this visit; coming by to check up on someone that she cares very deeply for, someone who's fate is very uncertain.

She makes her way to Quinn's room almost instinctively. The brunette walks through the doorway and finds Judy sitting at her daughter's bedside. She gives soft knock to reveal her presence. Judy turns towards her. Her eyes are red and puffy and she has a tissue in her hand. "Rachel," her voice is hoarse. "How are you?"

"I'm fine Ms. Fabray. How is Quinn?"

"Better," she takes a few breaths before continuing. She doesn't know Rachel very well, but she knows her well enough to know that a one word answer won't be sufficient for her. "Her vitals have improved, but- but she hasn't woken up yet." Judy's standing upright at this point. She's right in front of Rachel and looks to be on the brink of spilling into more tears.

"Perhaps I should wait outside."

"No, stay. I was just about to leave." She brings the brunette to sit down where she had been previously. "She'd enjoy your company," she says before leaving the two girls alone.

Rachel tries to find comfort in Judy's words, but she can't. Whereas before she could just believe that the accident was just some horrible nightmare, seeing Quinn in a hospital bed for a second time makes everything so real and she can't at all find her typical optimism. Her skin is still as pale as the day before, and quite possibly Quinn may actually be losing even more color.

"Hey Quinn," she starts, focusing her eyes on Quinn's hand; she wants to hold on to it, but the possibility that her hand will still lack its warmth causes her not to. "I'm back, and I'm sorry that I left like I did yesterday." Her gaze darts down at her hands, which are fidgeting in her lap. "Your mom says that you're getting better," she looks back up at Quinn's motionless form and it takes all her willpower not run out like she had before. "Santana tried to kill me today," she says needing to find something to talk about. "Brittany stopped her." Brown orbs are once again focused on her lap as she continues her one-sided dialogue. "I was thinking of getting Glee Club to sing a song for you, have any suggestions?" she manages a weak, fake laugh. "None, well that's okay. It's just that I can't seem to find the right song," she admitted.

As everyone very well knew music was like a second language to Rachel, in fact it may very well been her first. And despite how vocal she could be about her emotions, Rachel would, at times, be at a loss for words and that's where song lyrics would typically rescue her. But right now the only songs drifting through the brunette's head were things like Coldplay's "The Scientist" or the Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris" or other songs of the like. And while everything in her head would indeed be a beautiful number for New Directions to sing for Quinn, all of them were far too depressing for the diva. Rachel sat, mostly silent, for the rest of her visit. Words were lost in her throat, and her eyes alternated between staring at where hazel orbs would be staring back to looking anywhere but Quinn's seemingly lifeless body.

She stayed until visiting hours ended. A part of her felt guilty as she had not informed anyone, even her dads who were well aware that their daughter had planned to visit the blonde, about how long she'd stay. And it's not until she reaches her car that she notices that her phone is dead. Her phone. Dead. The same phone she had texted Quinn with. It was dead. Dead. She shook away such thoughts. Quinn was getting better. She hadn't woken up yet, but she was better.

Before long she pulled up to her driveway. She walks up to her front door, and begins rummaging through her bag. Her keys are nowhere to be found and she's about to knock when the door flies open. "Where have you been?" a worried Finn all but screams in her face. She makes her way past her boyfriend and begins to head up the stairs, completely ignoring him. "You disappear halfway through the day, you don't show up for Glee, and then for some reason I can't even reach you through your phone," he continues as he follows her up. "You can't just do that Rachel, not with what's happened." She stops directly in front of her room and turns to him rather than entering.

"Well I'm sorry Finn if I'm more concerned about Quinn than you, but if you haven't noticed she's in the hospital!" She turns away, determined to get herself into bed.

"And that gives you the right to just disappear? I'm your boyfriend, Rachel."

"And what exactly does that entail? Should my life revolved around you, Finn?"

"No, but I would have liked a heads up about you visiting my ex," Rachel let out a sound of disgust at his awful wording.

"Is that what this is about?" she asks incredulously. "The fact that I went to visit your ex? Your ex who has just been in a car crash," she emphasized the last few words in disbelief.

"Look that came out wrong. What I meant-"

"I think you said what you meant," she crossed her arms on her chest and stared him down. "You're being very insensitive Finn, and I'd like you to leave." He makes no effort to move. "I mean it Finn."

"Let me just-"

"SAM!" she yells, hoping that the blonde boy is actually home. Sam bursts out of his room almost instantly at the call of his name. Rachel turns to face him as she points out to Finn. "Sam, please tell Finn to leave." The brunette enters her room and closes the door. She can still hear the boys in the hall.

"Get out of my way Sam! This has nothing to do with you!"

"Well Rachel's like a sister to me now, so I think it does."

"Just let me talk to her!"

They went off for a bit longer though at some point Rachel had been able to block out their fighting. She doesn't even register the scuffling and the sound of a door being slammed. Instead she next hears a knock on her door. "It's me. He's gone." Rachel gets up and opens the door. He embraces her in a hug once she comes into view. He pulls back and asks, "You okay?" She nods her head 'yeah' and goes to hug him again.

"I'm just really scared," A single tears runs down her face. "But I'll be okay," she reassures him. "Thanks."

"All right, but if you need anything you know where to find me," he leaves and reenters his room. Rachel goes back to her bed and lies down. Her body is tired, but she's not sleepy. She closes her eyes and desperately tries to get some rest.

_She's walking down an empty road. There's not a building in sight, and she has no idea where she is. Looking down the road a red Volkswagen Beetle comes into view. Quinn's inside; she's driving. The blonde reaches over to grab her phone. Rachel sees the truck; it's going to collide with Quinn. It's going to crush her. She screams out. "Quinn stop!" Nothing, she just keeps going down the road. "Quinn please! Stop!" she pleads again. "I can't lose you Quinn! I love-"_

"Quinn!" she shrieks as she sees the truck crash into Quinn' car. Her heart is pounding in her chest, sweat is beading down her face, her breathing is erratic and tears are welling up in her eyes. Not a second later her fathers accompanied by Sam burst into her room. They say nothing because nothing they can say will make anything better. They just hug her, hold her. They just let her cry.

AN: Thanks for reading. I'll admit the length of this might depend on how long it takes to for me to decide on an ending. I'm juggling between like five or so. (It may also depend on what song ends up playing as I write the ending, as Celine Dion came on at some part when I was writing this part, it didn't really affect the chapter but still)


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Okay so I don't remember when was the last I updated this, and I'm sorry as always for making you wait. I've been working on a lot of things, and well you know how things go. I hope you're still invested enough to bear with me. And I thank you if you are.

Rachel didn't sleep at all after waking up from her nightmare. She didn't even try to get any rest, and the following morning she couldn't bring herself to conduct her morning routine. After her dads and Sam had left her room she just curled herself in bed and stared up at the ceiling up until realized she actually had to get ready for school. The brunette had half considered asking her dads if she could just stay home, with all things considered they wouldn't deny her, but she didn't want to worry them or Sam.

The blonde boy did see her as a little sister nowadays, and treated her as such. It was a natural response for someone with two younger siblings, and it felt nice for Rachel feel like she had a protective older brother. The main downside though, was also the main upside. Sam could read her quite well now and usually wouldn't back down when he knew something was wrong and she would brush the issue aside. And so it would come as no surprise that Rachel felt awful whenever she made him worry.

With that in mind she dragged her worn out body over to her closet. She slipped on a pair of gray sweatpants and a matching sweatshirt. Her getup only highlighted her weariness and, when she thought about it, would probably only cause more people to worry about her but that was a problem to address later. She went to her bathroom to freshen up slightly and then made her way downstairs to have breakfast with her parents and Sam.

Hearing her go down the stairs, the three of them looked up at her in surprise. None made any attempts of asking if how the rest of her night was. They all knew that it wasn't very often that Rachel Berry would cry, or at least it wasn't very often that she would cry, cry. Even Sam was now aware of how a sad Rachel Berry would mostly just need a glass of water to calm down. Real tears, not Rachel's thing.

A glance at her wardrobe choice caused the three men to trade skeptic looks which Rachel was too distracted to notice. She sat at the table and began to eat just as Sam finished. He went over to the living room to grab his backpack. He slings it over a shoulder then then returns to the dining room table. "You want me to give you a ride, Rach?"

"No thank you Sam. I want to visit Quinn again after school." She offers him a small smile. Sam leans against the wall. Rachel already has an idea of what's going to come next.

"You sure you want to skip Glee again?"

"I- Yes." Her voice has dropped an octave. Her dads are still eating. They try to keep their attention on their food. Not much luck. They stay as silent as possible, letting the only sounds their chewing escaped their mouths.

"We're singing songs for her, you know." Sam persists. "Well technically we're only thinking of what songs to sing. But we're going to put in on a CD and give it to her when she wakes up."

"I- um." Again her voice fails her. A small shake of her head and she's fine. "I'll come up with something and sing it later in the week." Sam makes an affirmative sound and nods his head. He heads out without a word. Rachel finishes her breakfast and follows soon after. The drive to school is silent. Typically she plays music while in her car. But right now she's certain that the first song to play will be depressing, and she doesn't need that.

She arrived at school later than she usually does. The parking lot was already getting full and so she doesn't get her choice of a spot. As exited her car she noticed that there were very few other students out. She grumbled as she checked the time only to find that she had only two minutes to get to class. But instead panicking about possibly ruining her perfect attendance record, she only slumped slower to the main building.

The bell rang only moments after she entered. Roaming the empty halls of McKinley was something Rachel had gotten used to. But of course she more accustomed to venturing these corridors afterschool; when the students and most of the faculty were long gone, and she had stayed behind for extra rehearsal time or such. It was different in the morning and Rachel wondered if it was because she was late or due to her already worn out state. But her thoughts didn't go too far because as she already stated, she was in fact late.

At a faster pace she headed off to her locker. She was able to round corners without fear of being caught. What with McKinley's budget, they couldn't afford to pay security guards whose main purpose was to catch tardy people and truants. After gathering her books she went to her first class. Luckily it was only down the hall and around the corner. She turned the handle of the door to her English class and entered.

"Ms. Berry, you're late." It was said with more surprise than irritation.

"I know, it won't happen again." She quickly scrambled to her seat, and frowned when she found the chair next to her empty. A swift glance to the left revealed that Santana had abandoned her to sit with Mike instead. Rachel sank in her seat as she only halfheartedly listened to the lesson they were given.

On the bright side, the taller brunette wasn't giving her any death glares. Though, truthfully, Santana actually refused any eye contact at all. The tiny diva squirmed in her chair. She was only a few minutes into class and already was losing it. She reached into her bag and pulled out her notebook. Rachel had every intention of taking notes but couldn't.

Her hand was floating above the paper as the minutes on the clock ticked away. Rachel chanced a glance at the Latina. Being ignored, and possibly hated, by her friends was probably more painful than not having friends in the first place.

And what's worse was that it wasn't only Santana. Kurt had been acting differently too. He shuddered at any mention of Quinn or her condition. Rachel would have attributed it to Kurt's personal experience with hospitals with his dad, but she knew something was off. She never pushed him though. They barely talked.

And then there was Mercedes. It was difficult enough to spend time with her, what with Sam living at Rachel's house. They could only stay there if Sam was out for the night, and would mostly hang out at Mercedes' or Kurt's place. But neither would work now.

Class after Rachel stared at the clock. Her entire being felt numb, and confused; both wanting and need to talk with someone, but not having the strength to do so. Thankfully she had managed to do better than the previous day and did get to some work done, or copy off of Mike and Sam that is. The day was nearing its end and once again Rachel went to her car to go to the hospital.

Finn was standing beside it. They only shared fleeting glances all day and Rachel wondered why she hadn't expected this.

"Finn," she acknowledged softly.

"Hey," he replied at the same volume.

"Is there a reason you're Finn," she said after a few seconds. "If not please let me get in-"

"I'm worried about her too."

"I'm sure you are." She attempted to get around him. "And I'm sorry for yesterday b-"

"But I'm worried about you too." Rachel stopped in her tracks and took a step back. "I get it all right. You're worried, we all are. But why should we stop living our lives just because Quinn's had a pause on hers?"

"Finn you're being insensitive again."

"Just answer the question, Rach." His voice wasn't as demanding as she'd come to expect from moments like this. It was more subdued, more needy than bossy. "Are you really going to just wait until she wakes up? And what if she doesn't?"

"She's going to wake up."

"But what if she doesn't?" he said again more forcefully. "What then?" He let out a sigh. "I just don't get it, Rach." He took another breath and stepped aside. "You can go, but just tell me. Is she really more important to you than us?"

"I- I- I don't know." Finn nods solemnly as he heads back to the school muttering out a 'Yeah, of course you don't.' Rachel decides to give chase. "Finn, wait!" He stops, but doesn't turn around. "I'm just really confused right now. I care about you, I swear. But…" She sees him flinch at the word. "I care about Quinn too." With his back towards her she can't at all read his expression, and right now she thinks that's a good thing. "I'm going to go now Finn. I'm sorry, but I have to."

She enters her car and starts the engine. She drives past Finn with a heavy heart. Rachel takes a deep breath as she approaches the hospital. She's prepared to come here as often as she has to, but is completely terrified of the idea of it being part of a routine.

Before long she's in Quinn's room again. Sitting at her bedside. Gently holding her cold pale hand in her own, drawing small patterns with her thumb. She squeezes her hand, waits, and then squeezes again. She doesn't know what she was expecting. That Quinn would squeeze back. That she'd miraculously wake up. No, of course she wouldn't.

"You're being mean, Quinn." She squeezes again. "You can't do this to me." She pulled Quinn's hand towards her chest, and pressed it firmly against it. "You feel this? My heart?" she whimpers. "You can't play with me like this Quinn." Her heart's beating intensified. "You owe me don't you think?" She pauses as though expecting an answer. "You did ruin my wedding," she weakly jokes. "And you might have just made me lose my boyfriend. And this…" She presses Quinn's hand tighter against her heart. "But I'll forgive you. For all of this, if you just wake up. Please," she pleads. "Please."

AN: So I tried not to make Finn be a complete douche. I'm not sure if I succeed of failed, but I tried. But anyway, reviews would be greatly appreciated. And I really want to write a one-shot in celebration of Dianna's birthday in little over a week. If any of you have any suggestions maybe you could PM me. Thanks.


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